Archives for facebook

Have you been following the Archives and Special Collections on Facebook? If not, you are missing out!

We’ve been posting selections of photographs from our holdings – many of which are “new discoveries” that are just seeing the light of day. 19th century Coke ovens from Sydney, Nova Scotia? Check! Old pharmacies in Dartmouth? Check! Early 20th century street scenes of Halifax? Check!

We get lots of comments on the Killam’s CCC board about people using the library workstations for personal FB time. On the other hand, a lot of students do use FB for class work. What’s your take on this? Should Facebook be allowed on our library computers?

The use of Facebook, and other social networking sites, on the Learning Commons workstations has recently become a topic of discussion. Opinions range from one extreme to the other. Some view Facebook as an essential tool that helps a person in their day-to-day life (including school), whilst others feel it is an unnecessary waste of time and University resources, and should be banned in the Learning Commons.

I came across an interesting article regarding some research by Ohio State University.

Interesting reading – the study doesn’t actually say that use of Facebook leads to less studying and lower grades, but that there is a relationship. Surely every generation has had their own distractions which affect their studies? Is Facebook any different, or are other factors involved? Has use of social networking sites had a detrimental effect on your studies? Should Facebook be allowed, or blocked, on the Learning Commons workstations?